That's What I Go to School For
by SulpiciaDoesntApprove
Summary: There are three students who give principal Vanessa Wolfe wrinkles. - What happens when you put the Volturi and some other Twilight characters in a high school and turn and twist everything slightly? AH/AU. Rated T for now.
1. Good Morning!

_**I really try not to start new fics all the time. But I've had this idea for such a long time now, so**__** I just needed to write it down. And since I am currently annoyed about certain things and figured a bitchy writer isn't a good writer, I decided to leave "Bittersweet" and my other fics be for a while and edit and post this instead.**_

_**Cliché AH high school fics. I have my issues with them**__** and wondered if that would even work with the Volturi. Well, of course I just HAD to try! ;P**_

_**Yes, everyone in this fic is human (except the cats and dogs, but you get my point)**__**. Now, don't kill me and read first, please! o.O I really like the Volturi as vampires, but I wanted to try something different for a change. Some of their characters might be slightly altered by humanity, but otherwise they are pretty much the same like their vampire equivalents. Aro is still bubbly, Caius is still a pyro. ;P**_

_**I'**__**ve also noticed that many AH/AU fics include a lot of stereotypes and clichés. Rosalie is a bitch, Edward a player and he and Bella end up together all the same. And the human Volturi would be an evil Mafia clan with a bratty teenage Jane. **_

_**Stereotypes**__** provoke me to twist them into anti-stereotypes. ^^**_

_**Not telling more just yet.**__** However, expect some unconventional, twisted stuff and pairings (you have been warned ;P). **_

---

**Aro POV**

"Wake up, dear brother."

I tentatively opened my eyes and there stood my little sister Didyme, still in her pajamas. She grinned her toothy grin at me and next thing I knew was that I had our cat Mr. Mittens lying on my face.

There is no thing like a cat on your face in the early morning.

Mr. Mittens was actually a female cat, but Didyme and I didn't feel like leaving the 'Mr.' part away.

I crawled out of bed and got dressed.

It was a morning like every else.

My sister complained that I had taken her seat, my father complained about me being late for breakfast, my mother complained about my morning hair.

My hair. One day, I was about eleven or twelve if I recall correctly, my mother had chided me for not cutting it more often. She said shaggy hair was not nice. And that she would be annoyed with me if I didn't cut it within a week. Well, I went through a rebellious phase back then. Needless to say, I hadn't really cut my hair anymore in more than five years. It almost went down to the small of my back by now and it took me ages to get all the knots out in the morning, but it was worth it. My mother was still annoyed and it kind of surprised me that she hadn't snuck in my room and cut it off while I was asleep yet.

I stole my sister's scrunchies. And blamed it on Mr. Mittens.

What? A cat is the perfect scapegoat!

After I had eaten my cornflakes I went back to my room to brush my teeth and get my things. Then I was ready for a new day of school.

---

**Caius POV**

I hate getting up early.

I hate cold showers.

I hate weak, nasty coffee that tastes like bitter water.

I hate mornings in general.

Thank God I didn't have any siblings or else I would have made their lives hell in the morning.

Everything was quiet in the house. My mother (adoptive mother, I'm not pretending anything else) had already left for work so I grabbed myself a half eaten yoghurt from the fridge.

And had to notice with the first spoonful that it was already moldy. I spat everything in the sink and rinsed my mouth.

Great day was great.

Yes, I use sarcasm a lot.

And no, I'm not a mean and bitchy person in general. I am also not PMSing like my friends always joke. I just have… temper issues.

I have never punched anyone (except Aro, but that was just because he wouldn't stop talking) and I have never set anything on fire so far (only a pile of my old schoolbooks, but that was technically nothing different than saving them the way to the garbage and from there to the waste incineration plant). I don't even smoke and only wear torn jeans when I don't have enough money to buy new ones, so safe yourselves the 'punk misfit' stereotypes.

And no, I don't have any piercings either.

I grabbed my ragged old schoolbag and left the house through the backdoor.

I only had to climb over a fence and cross through three backyards to get to my friend's house.

There was a dog living in one of the backyards though.

I hate hate _hate_ dogs.

---

**Marcus POV**

Monday morning.

It was nothing special for me. I never really understood how people could dread or – the opposite – look forward to it that much.

But today would maybe still be a little different. We were supposed to get a new teacher. That was big news for a small town like this.

New teacher always… scare me? Intimidate me? Irritate me? I don't know… it is just a challenge to get used to them and their style of teaching at first.

Well, I just hoped Aro and Caius wouldn't do anything stupid.

So… new Chemistry teacher was on the schedule.

---

_**That was just a short introduction**__** to get things started. Caius is still grumpy, Marcus isn't a depressed zombie because Didyme is still alive and Aro is just bubbly and crazy in general. ;P**_

_**If you have any questions or suggestions, just tell me! **_


	2. New Chemistry Teacher

_**Ugh, **__**I think I'll have to start planning funeral services for my laptop… yesterday it died again, so I had to rewrite parts of this chapter. **_

_**It is hard work to introduce all the characters and needed information without making it seem rushed, so it will probably take some time. I have roles for most of the Volturi, the Romanians, Bella, Carlisle and Kate and some other characters for now, but if you have any other suggestions for characters or roles to include, feel free to tell me.**_

_**Also, the only way I know about American high schools is from cliché movies (at least that way I know all the stereotypes to poke fun at ;P)**__**, high school here is a little different, more like college in American standards, I guess. So if I get anything wrong, don't hesitate to correct me.**_

_**Random, crazy**__**, 'happeh' teenage Aro scares me a little. But he is fun to write. ;P**_

---

**Aro POV**

When I arrived at school, Heidi was already waiting for my by the main entrance.

"Hello silly," she said and smacked me over the head lightly.

Just to make one thing clear: Heidi was the only one who was allowed to do that.

Heidi was Heidi. Her hair was dyed purple at the moment and she had just gotten a new nose piercing. We had been a couple in 8th grade (her hair had been cherry red back then) ad she was still one of my closest friends. She was rather tall and very beautiful, but not conceited and didn't care much about what other people thought of her. She had a particularly great sense of humor, provocative and refreshing at the same time.

"Hello Heidi," I grinned and hugged her, I like to hug people randomly.

On our way to our first class (History) we walked past Sam Ulley and his 'gang' in the hallway.

My friend Caius hated them with a passion.

They weren't exactly my favorite people either, but I was still on neutral terms with them. They greeted me, I greeted back.

Not Caius. He harbored some deep hatred for them.

Especially for Leah Clearwater (Sam's ex, if I remembered correctly). She was on the girls' soccer team. We sometimes trained with them, but Leah and Caius on opposite teams on the playing field at the same time was always a bad idea.

Caius really behaved like it was 'us' or them' sometimes, nothing in between.

'Us' that was mainly me, Marcus, Caius and Sully and Dora. And Heidi. Demetri, Chelsea, Afton and Renata were with us quite often as well.

Caius had shaggy, shoulder-length hair, dyed in a weird grey-white. It made him look like he came straight out of some Japanese manga. Which he didn't, of course, because then he would have had a bulging vein on his forehead and rays of red around his head half of the time, if you catch my drift. He could have quite a temper.

Dora was his girlfriend, a rather snappish blonde with a lot of piercings, but like with Caius, her appearance was misleading. She was quite nice, actually (unless you angered her).

Sully was my girlfriend, we had been together for almost two years now. She was the kind of girl that seemed like a shy, boring blonde at first sight, but she really wasn't like that. She _was_ rather quiet and nice, it was really nearly impossible to make her angry, but her ideas could be crazier than mine sometimes.

Demetri was our 'tracker', that's what we called him. He was on the track team and could run faster than anyone else I had ever seen and I'm not exactly slow myself.

And then there was Marcus. He was… just kind of there. I don't mean that in a negative sense, he was probably my best friend (maybe an even more understanding one than Caius or Heidi), but he preferred to be quiet most of the time.

Recently Didyme was sitting with us quite often as well, I wondered why.

---

Chemistry was our last class before lunch break.

"I am hungry," Caius complained when we walked to the classroom.

"I hope the new teacher is nice," Sully said.

We walked to our places where Sully started to tell me about one of the stories she was writing on at the moment. She was usually more quiet and calm even when talking, but this was the one topic she could get extremely excited about. She really was talented at writing, and I wasn't just saying that because she was my girlfriend.

Then the bell rang and our new teacher came into the classroom.

'Young', 'short' and 'petite' where the adjectives that came to my mind in the first two seconds.

I looked at her more closely inconspicuously when she turned to the blackboard, I knew everyone else in the room was doing the same.

To say her nice butt was the first thing that I noticed about her would have made me sound like the average stupid hormonal teenage male. So I went with the 'her heart-shaped face with the too full lips and pale cheeks caught my eye first'. Her skin was very pale, almost like porcelain or something. She reminded me a lot of a doll in general. She was very short and slender, skinny even, probably no more than five feet. I bet she didn't even go to my shoulders and her wrist looked like you could break them with a simple touch.

She was tiny. In an adorable, cute way.

Yes, I just mentally called my new Chemistry teacher cute.

I revised that first opinion as soon as she yelled at Caius for talking to Dora across the aisle instead of paying attention.

She wrote her name on the blackboard.

Jane Ross.

---

Caius called her a mean, moody bitch as soon as class was over.

I only rolled my eyes at him.

"Really, how old is she? Is she even allowed to be a teacher?" he ranted on as we waited in line to get our food, "she looks younger than me."

"… which takes a lot," Heidi interjected.

I snickered.

It was so easy to irritate Caius.

We were sitting at our usual lunch table, alternatively eating the contents of our lunch boxes or greasy cafeteria food.

The new chemistry teacher was still the main topic.

As expected, I wasn't the only one who had noticed her attractive butt.

And – surprise – it wasn't one of the guys who brought it up.

"She has a nice butt," Heidi said and Renata spat her milk back in her glass as a reaction to that comment.

"…what?" Heidi looked at us like we were not normal (or normal, depending on how you looked at it), "aw come on, you must have noticed too! It was just a neutral statement, that doesn't automatically make me a dyke."

Silence.

"Aro, I'm missing your comment on this," Heidi turned her head in my direction, "you are usually never lost for words."

"Huh?" I shoved a spoonful of hot mashed potatoes in my mouth quickly. "Cwan' 'ou see 'm ea'ing?"

"Sure, sure," she plucked a grape from her lunch box filled with healthy stuff, but the sarcasm in her voice was not lost on me.

I swallowed the mashed potatoes and took my bottle of soda to drink. "I think she'll be an okay teacher," I said, "better than Mrs. Mallory, anyway."

"She seems pretty nice. Strict, but nice," Sully said and shrugged.

"Well, I still don't like her," Caius scowled.

---

_**Oh the fun of twists**__**. ^^ **_

_**Jep, Jane is Aro, Marcus and Caius' chemistry teacher. Who said the three of them have always to be the oldest and wisest and Alec and Jane always the little kids? I still wanted to keep the difference in age and power, but figured twisting it would be more fun. Although I have my doubts if this will turn out well… XD**_

_**And yes, it is annoying that I have to come up with lots of last names, since the Volturi don't have **__**any in the books. Thanks to Miss Ross for letting me borrow hers for this story. ;)**_


	3. A Day in the Life of Jane

_**So I renamed t**__**his fic "That's What I Go to School For". I liked the old title, it was supposed to symbolize how counterproductive Aro, Caius and Marcus' detention session are, but the new title fits just too perfectly on so many levels. XD **_

---

**Jane POV**

When I woke up my digital alarm clock read exactly five AM.

Today would be my second day at my new workplace.

I groaned and rolled over again, but then decided it was no use and I might as well just get up. I went to the kitchen and boiled water for a cup of tea, coffee gives me a headache. The old, ugly linoleum floor under my small feet was cold and I regretted no having put on my warm, fluffy socks.

My apartment was small, but I had grown attached to it. It was… cozy. Although tainted with some bad memories.

Yes, I just went through a tough break-up.

With who? None of your business.

Let's just say it is not a nice feeling when you catch the one you love in bed with another woman.

Just like in the stupid, cliché movies.

I was so angry, I threw out all the stupid English and French novels and clothes lying around immediately after that. I even tore up old pictures and refused to answer the phone and listen to shallow excuses of explanations for over a week, which was childish, I admit, but I was just… so pissed.

But life goes on. Or so they say.

That's why I decided to accept that new job, even if it meant an hour drive there and back every day.

A small high school in a sleepy small town, I couldn't help drawing parallels to my old hometown. Ultraconservative and merciless.

Needless to say, I was more than happy to leave my hometown as soon as I got to college, and I've only visited it about six times since then. Unfortunately, my parents were just as ultraconservative and merciless as the other people there. We didn't get along well, to put it mildly.

Alec, my best friend since elementary school, was basically the only one from my past I still talked to. We had always been and still were very close and only parted when we went to different colleges in different cities. Still, we met almost every weekend to talk, watch action movies without a plot or just be together. We did that even more often now that we lived in the same city again. You could say he was my 'best girlfriend', to poke a little fun at our relationship.

I had worked as a teacher for two years now, mostly replacements in high schools in the city though, so this new job was a very welcomed change.

If I recalled correctly from my job interview, the old Chemistry teacher had had some kind of nervous breakdown and they needed someone new rather quickly.

Alec worked there as an English and Philosophy teacher and I was kind of happy that at least that way I would know someone. I don't open up to new people easily. Who am I kidding? I don't open up easily to practically almost everyone.

The students seemed nice enough. The usual amount of troublemaking brats, but that was to be expected. I was pretty sure I would be able to handle them.

Some of them were really tall though, especially the boys, but I had already seen that problem coming. I was a midget after all. At least my voice was loud enough, so I hoped I would intimidate them enough by yelling and glaring.

There was one student though I didn't really trust.

Caius.

I 'would be watching him', to put it in dramatic words. He just seemed like the kind of student who enjoyed harassing short, young female teachers.

Well, that wouldn't work with me.

I had already been stepped on enough in my past.

This was a new start.

And I swore myself not to think again about the mess that my love life was.

---

I was not the first in the teachers' lounge after the first two periods. Kate, Carmen and Emmett had already arrived before me.

I had already met Kate yesterday, she was only two or three years older than me and teaching Physics. She was a tall, gorgeous blonde with a nice figure and kind eyes, a little too concerned about her looks maybe, although most likely not a slut, her face was too fresh and natural for that. She had small freckles on her nose. I know I'm fast with making prejudges, but they make it easier to classify people and deal with them.

Carmen, the Spanish teacher was a short (although still taller than me), middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a tinkling laugh, she was very welcoming and assured me I could ask her anytime if I had any questions.

Emmett, the bulky sports teacher. Type 'football player', the kind of guy I had absolutely loathed back in my high school years. He seemed nice enough though, always smiling and jesting.

They were talking about some crazy seniors, I remembered having them in class yesterday.

"… he is a nice boy," I heard Carmen say, "polite and smart. But… he just won't shut up… he talks and talks…"

Kate chuckled softly. "You just have to remind him a couple of times to keep quiet…"

I tuned them out and started reading a book I had brought with me.

When recreation was over, I grabbed my shoulder bag (yes, very student-like, I know) and books and set out for my next class. A bunch of crazy seniors.

---

_**I don't think I will use any OCs for this fic. So everyone has showed up in Twilight at some point, but of course they might be a little different since this is AU/AH.**_

_**Thanks a lot for your reviews so far, I always love to read your assumptions and guesses. And keep 'em coming. ^^**_

_**Next chapter will be some interaction with the "crazy **__**seniors" (Aro, Marcus, Caius and their classmates, of course).**_


	4. How to Annoy Miss Ross

_**Poor Jane. Caius and Aro can't be exactly the easiest of students. Caius has already declared war on her and Aro… **__**He likes to test his teachers. And he has also no shame whatsoever.**_

---

**Jane POV**

When I opened the door I had to dodge a paper plane first.

_Really, what is this? Fourth grade?_

"Embry, Quil, stop that!" I glared at them and they looked almost a little scared. Everyone was immediately quiet and went to their places very quickly. I smiled a little. _Wow, it is actually working. Maybe a small town school is not so bad after all… _I went to my desk, started unpacking my things and told them to start reading the first two pages in their reader.

The lank, dark-haired boy in the first row raised his hand. "Miss, I have a question."

I looked down at my papers again to check if everyone was here. "What is your name again?" I mumbled absentmindedly.

"Aro."

I lifted my head. _Strange name. _He was looking at me expectantly and I nodded at him, expecting some question related to the curriculum or the reader. "Yes?" I said.

"How old are you?" he asked bluntly and tilted his head, "you don't look older than… – his brows furrowed in thought – twenty-two."

I sighed inwardly. _Here we go again._

"I'm twenty-five years old," I said and wanted to go back to drawing a model of an atom on the blackboard. We would use that to look at the charges later.

But he still had questions.

"Do you have a pet?" I heard his voice behind me and turned around slowly. He looked completely serious. The purple-head next to him (Heidi, I recalled) snickered and crossed her long legs. She seemed to be used to his behavior and returned to read, while Aro still looked at me inquiringly.

"I… have a cat." I was a little perplexed at his bold, personal question.

"Yes…" he nodded earnestly, "you seem like a cat person."

I heard someone giggle.

I blinked. _… "you seem like a cat person"? What… what is that supposed to mean? _Was he making fun of me? Or was he always like this? I shook my head angrily and returned to the blackboard, mentally putting him on my 'to watch' list.

He was a very strange boy, that was for sure.

It is usually very easy to stereotype students, but he wouldn't quite fit in any category.

A geek… but he had too many friends for that. I knew that he was smart to a degree that was almost smart-ass, Alec had warned me already, but he seemed social enough, which didn't fit the stereotype. He looked athletic in that lank way, but not like a jock. I checked all the other high school student stereotypes I had in my head from past experiences, but none did quite fit.

_Emo?_

_About as likely as cheerleader._

_Goth?_

_The__ long, black hair would fit, but I don't hear any gloomy phrases…_

_Skater?_

_Baggy jeans: check. Striped s__weater: check. "I-don't-wanna-do-anything-attitude": definitely not check. That boy is too enthusiastic for his own good._

_Pothead?_

_A possibility._

He seemed nice enough though. Well-mannered and friendly (too much perhaps). So I wouldn't let a few obnoxious questions get to me.

I sighed and finished the drawing of the atom. Most of the students were finished with reading by now. Some of the girls were inspecting their nails, two boys in the last rows whispered something to each other. "Questions?" I asked.

I ignored Aro's raised hand on purpose.

---

**Marcus POV**

The Cullen twins greeted when they walked past our table and went to sit down two tables behind us.

They weren't really twins, but everyone called them that. They both had the same golden curls, but Jasper was a year younger (he was a junior), Carlisle was in my grade. He was one of Aro's closer friends, they always talked about the advanced theory of gravity and highly intellectual things like that. I was not dumb myself, I mean, I was not as smart as them but… I just didn't like mathematics and anything related to it that much.

We had an extra-long lunch break, there was no English class today. Our English and French teacher Mr. Laurent had had some sort of accident, so his lessons were canceled until we got a substitute teacher.

"I've heard he got attacked by a pitbull or something," Heidi said and I could see Caius shudder.

I pocked the carrots on my plate. They looked like they had been cooked way too long.

I didn't feel like talking, so I just looked about me a little.

There was something different with Sully today, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. She… was quieter, caught up in her own world as if she were thinking about something. Chelsea told her about some dress she had seen at the mall, but I could tell Sully was only listening with half an ear. Aro, who had wrapped his arm around her shoulder loosely, seemed oblivious and so did everyone else. So maybe it was really just me who was seeing things.

I always interpret too much in things.

Caius already plotted a prank on Miss Ross. He still hadn't forgiven her for humiliating him in front of the whole class right on the first day.

Poor woman, I honestly pitied her a little for what Caius had in store for her.

I let my eyes wander around the cafeteria and spotted her sitting with Mr. Cooper, they were talking animatedly. Did they know each other or had they become such good friends in only two days?

Mr. Cooper was our Philosophy teacher and…well, we were all pretty sure that he was gay.

I mean, the way he talked and walked… it was pretty obvious.

I had nothing against gays, but I knew a lot of people here who did. This was a conservative small town after all.

Either way, he was actually quite a nice teacher. Terribly shy and quite oblivious at times, but Philosophy was my favorite subject besides English and his lessons were always interesting, even Caius had to agree on that.

I shoved some of the mushy carrots in my mouth.

Caius laughed in that scary way. "Oh, this will be fun," he snickered, "she won't see it coming."

"Caius, I'm not sure if this is a good idea…" Aro frowned.

Didyme came to our table to bring Aro something he had forgotten at home. She threw a quick glance in my direction, her beautiful hazel brown eyes lighting up, and she smiled. Did she mean me? No… she had probably only looked at Jasper who was sitting two tables behind me…

She was Aro's little sister, fifteen years old and the prettiest girl at the whole school. Well, at least in my eyes. I knew that she liked to sing and dance and like her brother she was a very happy and friendly person. Although not obnoxiously loud like Aro could be sometimes (I'm lucky he can't read my thoughts).

Yes, I really liked her.

But... I always blushed and stuttered like an idiot whenever she tried to talk to me. I was sure she was thinking I was a complete freak by now.

It was hopeless.

---

_**Alec… g**__**ay? Teenagers can be so judgmental… but what do YOU think? ^^**_


	5. Three Times Weirdness

_**Hmmm… it was interesting to hear all your opinions on the topic of Alec being gay or not. Of course the mystery will be resolved at some point,**__** but for this chapter we will get a little more insight in Caius' plans and Aro's mind (be afraid, very afraid ;P).**_

_**And here comes another chapter without spell-check. I'm really sorry for **__**the mistakes it will probably have, but spotting mistakes on a tiny laptop screen is definitely not one of my strengths… It drives my teachers crazy whenever I send them a document without spell-cheking it first. o.O And I will edit as soon as my new laptop is installed.**_

---

**Aro POV**

Today was a weird day.

Firstly, it was freakishly cold, and that in the beginning of fall. I was happy I had put on a thick sweater, so the moist mist didn't bother me much. Sunshine and warmth would have been nicer though.

But Didyme only wore jeans, a thin shirt and a girly blue dress over it, she chattered her teeth and hugged her arms tightly to her body.

We met Marcus by the corner and I started to tell him about a great book I had just finished yesterday.

Yes, I'm a teenage boy who plays videogames _and_ reads books.

The book was on medieval European history, something that interested Marcus as well, so he asked if he could borrow it.

"I am coooold…" Didyme whined.

I turned to look at her. She really did look like she was freezing and could need a warm jacket but… I kind of wanted to keep my warm sweater for myself…

I told her so.

"No, it's okay, I don't want your sweater…" she replied, but she kept on giving me and Marcus those meaningful looks. Her big brown eyes and long, thick lashes reminded me of Mr. Mittens' whenever she wanted food or something.

I returned to explaining my view on European politics during the Middle Ages to Marcus. It was nice to talk with him about stuff like that, because he would usually just listen and make a comment here and there, but he didn't just agree with everything I said either. That is just boring when people do that. Although I always like to convince them that I am right.

Didyme was still looking at us.

I turned back to her slowly. "What?" I asked. I had no clue what she wanted, and Marcus didn't either, judging from the look on his face. He only shrugged.

"Oh forget it…" Didyme huffed and practically stomped away to her girlfriends.

Huh? What was she angry about now?

I decided it was probably a little sister thing and forgot about it again quickly.

That was the first weird event.

---

The second weird event was when Sully avoided looking at me when I hugged her.

She usually did that when I was annoying her, but today I couldn't recall for the life of me what I had done this time to make her ignore me like that. Maybe she had just a bad day.

When I asked her what the matter was, she just said "Nothing, nothing…" and returned to writing in her notebook.

That was the second weird event.

---

I could say the third weird event was when our Math teacher Mr. Stefanoiu came into class wearing an organe-brown plaid vest and pants that were too big for him, so he had to tie them to his waist with a belt. But he always dressed like that, so it wasn't really that weird anymore, although still disturbing. Caius only called him Mr. Weirdo.

No, the real third weird event was when I got back a B in the short chemistry test we had written last week. It had been our first test with Miss Ross.

I had never gotten a B in Chemistry before.

It was basically my favorite subject next to History and Social Studies, and I had never _ever _gotten anything less than an A-, so yes, I was taken aback a bit.

Sure, Caius got a D and Dora even an F, so she had been extremely strict with her corrections in general, but it still bothered me. So I raised my hand.

"Why do I have a B?" I asked when she came to my desk, "I've answered every question correctly." I looked up at her and showed her my test to prove my point.

She tucked a strand of her short, pale brown hair behind her ear and leaned closer to have a look at it. "Yes," she said and turned the paper, "but you see – she pointed at the last two questions – here I would have expected you to calculate the result with the actual numbers from the table we studied in class, not just with variables like you did."

I frowned. "Yes, but you see, I had soccer practice the day before the test and honestly, I thought it would be stupid to learn the whole table you gave us by heart…"

She wasn't moved the slightest. "Well, then you'll just have to study harder next time," she said and stood up straight again. "I know you could have done better," she added, "so see it more of challenge to take your studies more seriously next time." With that she went back to her desk again.

Oh well, there were worse things than a B.

I would get an A in the next test.

"I told you she is a mean bitch," Cauis whispered to me across the aisle when Miss Ross wasn't looking.

He found something new to complain about in every lesson and was already plotting his revenge on her. I thought it was childish, but I guessed it was his way of channeling his negative energy instead of beating up others or listening to dark, depressing music.

He had thought about putting something nasty in her bag, scare her in front of the whole class or put all the jars in the laboratory in the wrong order, but he had abandoned those ideas again because they were not creative enough for him. So he still hadn't come up with the perfect master plan yet, but he said he was working on it. The glint in his eyes did scare me a little.

"I count on your help," he had said.

"But… why?" I had complained, "I don't have anything against her, I actually even like her quite a lot."

"You're such a teacher's pet," Caius had mumbled and scowled at me.

It was true, I did like her. Although the B got her minus points on my list, of course.

Then again… she was one of the few teachers who had the backbone to talk back to students and still retained some dignity.

She was different from most of the teachers I had had so far.

Yes, she was bitchy and could have quite a temper, especially when someone didn't do what they were supposed to do, but she could also be nice when you deserved it. She had a really nice smile. She was even smart. Sadly, a lot of teachers aren't, or only "book-smart", nothing else. She got my questions and most of my jokes, I think, although she always chose to ignore them.

Yep, she was definitely better than Mrs. Mallory.

And I'm not just saying that because she was so freaking cute.

And she _did_ have quite a nice butt…

It was not that I wasn't taking her seriously, but it was rather adorable when she stretched for something on the upper shelves and had to ask one of the students in the end to get it for her because she was just too short.

Too bad she was a teacher.

---

_**Oh Aro…**__** writing from his POV always makes me laugh. ;P**_

_**I figured he would love **__**his little sister dearly, but wouldn't necessarly like to share and be selfless, even if he has a big heart. And he would always get the best grades and everything he wants. And when he doesn't, he would be like "Excuse me? There must be a mistake, you seem to have forgotten that I am awesome." at first and then get over it and see it as a challenge to "win" next time. Because he loves to win and always be right. Just like in canon. ;P**_

_**And yes, **__**according to my research (thank you internet and Desdemona85) Stefanoiu is an actual last name. Well, I think you already guessed… it is Romanian. ^^ Hehe, more teachers for Caius to hate. **_


	6. Two Friends and One Cat

_**Jane and Alec bonding time. Because they are just too adorable.**__** Yes, think Jane needs a lot of… maintenance, she can be a needy drama queen at times, but she is also very loyal and loving with people she knows. And Alec likes to be there for her.**_

_**And**__** Gianna… I couldn't just forget about her, right? She was a different "species" in canon so here I present you Gianna… the cat. ;P**_

---

**Jane POV**

"Hand me the towel over there please? Thanks."

I dried the dishes while Alec cut the salad and Gianna rubbed against his legs and purred.

Gianna was my cat. She had beautiful black fur and greenish eyes and was very independent, something I really liked, it gave her character. But she could also be quite a diva. Namely with people she didn't know she was very picky and mistrustful and liked to hiss and scratch. Maybe we had some similarities there?

Alec was practically family though, so I didn't have to worry that she would rearrange his nose (true story, she had done that to a girlfriend from college once).

I got the glasses and plates.

Alec put an extra-large portion of pasta on my plate. "You need to eat," he said and set it down in front of me, giving me a stern look. "I don't wasn't you to end up as skin and bones," he added, "you are already skinny enough as it is."

I sighed. "It is just… I haven't eaten any real good food since..." I started but then stopped myself.

Alec put down his fork. Of course he knew perfectly well what I had left out.

"Jane, you said you were over it," he sighed, "can't you… just let it go finally? It doesn't help anyone if you drown in your lovesickness for all eternity..."

I looked up at him. "It is just kind of hurtful to get called moody and then get dumped because "oh, I said you were the love of my life, but oh, I couldn't make up my mind and decided I like some little slut off the street better because she is not as clingy as you". I'm still chewing on it, you know?"

I mean, I had every right to after all that happened! All the selfishness and pretenses… and I had been so damn blind…

Alec only gave me a worried look. He worried about me too much all the time.

I'll… get over it soon enough, promise," I added and poked my food. "Okay… maybe I'm wallowing in lovesickness. But…" I frowned, "the other, much more rational reason is that I simply can't cook for the life of me…"

He shook his head in disapproval. "You can cook, Jane," he tried to cheer me up, "just try to be a tiny bit less impatient and messy… and maybe put the top on the salt shaker next time?"

I grimaced apologetically at him.

We ate in silence for a while.

Alec knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.

When the other children watched Disney movies, we read science books together. We always shared our lunch, defended each other against the mean kids and in 8th grade we had practiced our kissing technique together once.

But it felt like kissing your brother, so we didn't do it again.

Ah, school memories…

They were rare, but there were still some good memories. Like the time I had tripped Bree so she fell in the mud face forward. I had to pay hell for it later, but it had still been worth it.

---

After we had eaten, we made ourselves comfortable in front of the TV to watch some silly movie.

We had Gianna and a bowl with popcorn in between us and it was really quite cozy.

"Do you go visit your parents on Thanksgiving?" Alec asked me when a turkey ran across the street on the TV screen.

_Thanksgiving… shit._

"Oh God, Thanksgiving is up again…" I groaned.

"I guess they'll invite me again, yes… and remind me explicitly to not even think about bringing one of my 'questionable acquaintances'. Really, maybe I should just pick up a hooker off the street and tell them we got married in California, it wouldn't make a fucking difference to them anyway…"

"Jane… language…"

"What?" I huffed, "it is true! I could date whoever I wanted, they would still not be satisfied."

"That's their problem, not yours."

I would still need to visit them on Thanksgiving though. Alone the thought already made me cringe.

"Too bad I could never be the perfect daughter they wanted…"

"Well, my mother still loves you, does that help?" Alec offered.

Alec's mother really was sweet. She was kind, understanding and always treated me like a daughter, not just like her son's best friend. She was more of a mother figure to me than my own mother ever had been.

"The next time you talk to her, tell her I really loved the cookies she made for me," I said, "that was really sweet of her. Sometimes I really feel I was born into the wrong family… We could have just switched places, I'm sure my parents would have preferred to have a child like you."

"I doubt everyone thinking I am gay would do well on their agenda…"

"True," I sighed. "Then again, you were well-mannered, self-sufficient, halfway obedient and not making a lot of trouble... Unlike me."

"You were not that bad, Jane."

"The thing I heard last Thanksgiving was that I'm ungrateful, always wrong and just a horrible person in general. To quote my mother: "We are still trying to love you, Jane, but girls like you go to hell" and "… what did we do to deserve a child like you?" It was like in one of those movies where they circle the evil witch, bombard her with accusations and then carry her to the stake. I was actually surprised that they didn't get out the pitchforks and torches."

"You are being melodramatic."

That broke my anger a little. "Maybe…" I chuckled.

I admit, I hadn't been the easiest daughter to deal with. But I still felt bitter that instead of supporting me, they has just yelled at me and basically kicked me out.

"This is exactly why I'll never have kids on my own," I said and stroked Gianna's fur, my eyes fixed on the TV, "I'd just mess them up."

Alec did the same.

---

"So how are things for you?" I asked him after a while. "Any news about Alec's love life?"

He only rolled his eyes at me. "You are kidding, right? There is no such thing as 'Alec's love life'." He blushed a little, and that made me suspicious.

"… so there is a girl you are interested in?" I turned my head to look at him.

He blushed harder. "I'm sure she is not even interested in me…" he mumbled.

"No wonder when you are so shy!" I exclaimed and grabbed his arm. Gianna meowed and jumped off the couch. "As long as you are that shy," I continued, "girls probably think you are not even interested."

"They all think I'm gay anyway."

Unless he really knew someone, he was really shy and had a lisp, and students had started making a little fun of him for it.

"Stupid stereotypes," I mumbled.

"It's not that bad…"

"Just try to be a bit more outgoing," I suggested, "it does work wonders. Just don't listen to the stupid jokes. … and you should get rid of those nerd glasses," I teased him.

Alec only rolled his eyes. "To be honest, I don't really care," he said, "they can go ahead and call me a girl. Maybe then they'll start to invite me to sit at their table during lunch? Really, sometimes I feel like this is high school all over again." He laughed awkwardly.

I had to hug him alone for that.

"To quote the stereotype," I chuckled, "every girl needs a gay best friend."

We both laughed out loud at our little private joke.

"Love you too, Jane" he said and squeezed me.

He really was the best friend I could have ever wished for.

---

_**Poor Alec**__**, he is just too shy…**_

_**And have you**__** figured out yet who Jane's ex is? ^^**_

_**I kind of like **__**to think of Jane as the "cute" girl who displays a very "uncute" language as soon as nobody who could judge her is around.**_


	7. The Blacklist

_**Prepare for more new teachers. And**__** Caius vs. Leah. Already the thought makes me laugh. ^^**_

_**I hope the language in this chapter is not too bad, but I just imagine Cai**__**us would swear rather often…**_

_**Oh, and Caineanu is a Romanian last name which means more or less "dog" (right?). I figured that would be a fitting name for Vladimir since Caius hates everything that only faintly reminds him of dogs**__**, his worst enemies. ;P**_

---

**Caius POV**

There is one class that I hate even more than Math: History.

Really, whereas Mr. Stefanoiu was just an idiot, Mr. Caineanu was a sadistic idiot. Me and Aro actually nicknamed him 'Dracula' and it fit quite well because his first name even was Vladimir and he had that creepy vibe. Really, I didn't want to know what he was doing at midnight during full moon.

Aro nudged me.

"Huh?" I asked and lifted my head, brushing my messy bangs out of my face so I could see him.

"I just wanted to make sure you haven't fallen asleep yet," he said.

I rolled my eyes at him, but technically he was not so wrong. I had already fallen asleep in History class twice since the beginning of school year, which didn't exactly made Dracula hate me less.

Well, the feeling was mutual.

There was one thing I usually did to keep myself from falling asleep in class: plotting revenge.

Revenge, revenge… I just like the sound the word has.

I had an actual black list with people I still needed to play pranks on. Aro always rolled his eyes when I mentioned it and told me to grow up, but my black list was very dear to me.

Yes, I do hold grudges.

And no, I don't let go of them easily.

Top on the list was Leah Clearwater.

Firstly, because she was a bitch.

Secondly, because she was a bitch.

Oh… and have I already mentioned that she was a bitch?

And I still hadn't forgiven her for calling me a mean dumbass in front of the whole class during a discussion in Philosophy last week. I mean, I simply told her I thought her view on "how males are basically just brainless, heartless idiots" was stupid and made her look like a bitter bitch, which was true, I was only stating a fact, but she still got all pissy and defensive.

I mean, she had called me a mean, _sexist_ (oh the ironies, right after her rant about how all men are assholes) dumbass, and for once I hadn't even done anything to deserve that title!

I mean… who did she think she was?!

She was quite pretty and smart, yes. But she also knew it and always had to rub it under your nose. Compared to Aro and Marcus, who were almost as freakishly tall as Sam and his gang, I was rather short and Leah was quite tall for a girl, so I was only a few inches taller than her. She never forgot to remind me.

Her boyfriend Sam had dumped her seven months ago and ever since she had been nothing but mean and bitter.

Aro had even dared to compare her to me once. "Wow, Caius, if you don't take care she will soon outrank you as the school's biggest bitch," he had remarked and frowned when she had thrown her drink in Jacob's face in response to some innocent comment, "the day she starts to set trash cans on fire you can say goodbye to your bad reputation you have worked for so hard."

Yes, Leah was a pain.

She was a great soccer player though.

… but that still doesn't mean that I like her, okay?

In order to get my revenge I would need to find out her strongest weakness and then use that knowledge against her shamelessly.

I mean, it couldn't be that hard, right?

_Even Leah Clearwater __must have a weakness._

Second on the revenge list was Miss Ross.

I couldn't understand why most of the other students were practically drooling over her.

"… _finally a teacher that isn't as boring as the others…"_

"… _she is cute…"_

"… _this is the first time I've actually understood an explanation in chemistry…"_

"… _damn, that ass is fine…"_

…

_Yuck!_

I mean, what the hell? Teachers exist to be hated, not to drool over!

At least Aro seemed to agree with me on that when I told him. He didn't even interrupt me for once.

He just nodded absentmindedly, mumbled "Mmmmmhm…" and kept on staring at the blackboard where Miss Ross was explaining something.

Miss Ross, who yelled at me again ten minutes later because she caught me texting Marcus under my desk. Really, she was such a killjoy, ugh!

I hated her snotty, brusque attitude. Mrs. Mallory had never yelled at me or given sarcastic comebacks.

Sure, at least she did have something like character, but not one I liked.

I don't like getting yelled at and disciplined by a short, tiny, doll-faced teacher that is practically a _midget_! I mean, how humiliating is that?

Yes, she definitely deserved some prank.

Nobody humiliates Caius!

I had something special in store for her.

I would need Aro 'chemistry genius' help for that though…

---

Aro, Sully, Marcus and Heidi went to Spanish class, while Dora and I walked in the other direction to the French classroom. Chelsea was in that class as well and she and Dora started chatting as soon as we had sat down. I started doodling something in my notebook and waited for the bell to ring.

I could already see another boring, annoying hour ahead.

Sometimes I really hate this dictatorial institution that they call school…

I really don't know why I took French, I didn't even like French culture or language all that much, it was mainly Dora who had dragged me there.

After more than two weeks of no class because of Mr. Laurent's 'accident', we finally got a substitute teacher. I had heard that she would not only teach us in French class, but also in English. Yes, another new teacher.

Lots of new teachers. I was starting to get annoyed.

Were they planning to replace the whole teacher body or what?

At least this one looked like she wouldn't be too mean and bitchy. She even seemed a bit shy as she stood there, caught up in her own world. She had long, dark hair, a plain but kind face and my first impression was that she was quite clumsy. She already dropped two crayons in the first ten minutes.

Her voice was quiet and soft, I decided on classifying her as one of those calm, female teachers that have some authority when needed and are oblivious at the right moments, but don't make too much trouble and rather cry than yell back.

She introduced herself as Miss Swan.

---

_**So **__**Bella Swan is the new substitute teacher. I bet you didn't see that one coming! I feel so evil now. ^^ (excuse me while I try to dodge the tomatoes this-heart is going to throw at me and recover from my fits of maniac laughter) But fear not, I actually have a plan…**_

_**And **__**poor Aro will have to help Caius with his revenge on Jane, whether he wants or not.**_

_**Oh **__**the awkwardness that will ensue…**_


	8. When You Are Sick With the Flu

_**Woo**__**-hoo, an early update! I've actually wanted to update one of my other fics first, but some of the responses to the last chapter motivated me to write on this (and the moral of that: funny reviews and virtual egg throwing makes me write faster ^^) so I might as well update what I have, yes?**_

---

**Aro ****POV**

We had a break and were just kind of lazily standing or sitting around in the hallway outside our classroom.

Marcus was sick at home with the flu, and to be honest, I missed him a little. Sure, there was still Caius, but today he was even grumpier than usual and not exactly a pleasant dialogue partner.

I talked with Jacob a little, ignoring the angry glares Caius shot at him. I really didn't get what his problem was, he just seemed to hate everyone of Sam's clique on principle. But Jacob was actually quite nice, he was fun to goof around with and could still keep up an intelligent conversation at the same time.

"So what's your opinion about the English substitute teacher?" Jacob asked me.

"Miss Swan?" I opened my energy drink and took a drink. "I like her."

I really did. She gave us much more freedom than our old teacher Mr. Laurent, he had always been a bit too strict for my liking. Right in the first lesson this morning Miss Swan had given us the task to read a political book, a different one for each student, so we could talk about the differences and similarities between them in class later.

She also seemed very calm and kind so far, not as moody as Miss Ross, I could quite decide if that was a plus, or made her a bit boring. Nevertheless, I got the feeling that we would get along well.

"I know, right?" Jacob said, "she seems really nice." He had that cheeky smile on his face like he always did when talking about a pretty girl he liked.

Didyme, who seemed to prefer to spend her breaks with me and my friends lately, was standing by the corner with Sully and they were whispering something.

… _s__hould I be worried?_

I wasn't exactly sure if I liked that… I mean, your girlfriend and your sister… they could always be plotting something against you, right?

Sully came over to me and frowned when she saw the energy drink in my hand. "Aro, do you really need that stuff?" she asked and took it from me to take a drink as well. "Aren't you already hyper enough? Honestly, giving you energy drinks is like… like giving a psycho serial killer an axe. It's devastating."

I chuckled. Sully and her metaphors.

"Listen…" she said and took my hand to play with my fingers, "you promised Marcus to bring him all the school materials from today after school, right?"

"Yes. Why?" I tousled her hair playfully, something I knew she hated.

"Well, you still have your extra-curricular activities, so I thought you might as well give them to me and I could bring them over to his house right after school. I need to get some things from the store for my mom anyway." She looked up from our hands and smiled at me angelically.

_Huh… that's nice of her…_

"Oh, that is a good idea," I said and smiled at her, "thanks a lot."

"No problem," Sully smiled back, "now if you will excuse me…" with that she went back over to Didyme again.

I finished my energy drink.

---

**Jane POV**

I only wanted to bring some signed letters with the parental permission for a field trip with the freshmen to the school secretary Mrs. Cope. Right after that I would head home because I was actually sick with the flu and had only come to work at all because two classes had had a test in the morning.

Lying on the couch with Gianna curled up on my lap and coughing my lungs out, that were my plans for the afternoon.

I was looking down at the papers, trying to decipher the signature on the paper on top of the pile, so I only raised my head when I heard that Mrs. Cope was talking to someone, whom I didn't hear saying anything in response to her babbling, so I was wondering who it was. I looked up.

That was when I felt even more awful, and it wasn't just the flu.

By the counter stood a girl with thick, dark brown hair and big, chocolate brown eyes.

Isabella. Marie. Swan.

_Fuck._

This was the last thing I needed right now!

I was about to turn around and leave as quickly as possible, but of course she had to notice me. "Jane," she called after me, she seemed just as equally surprised to meet me here.

So the past always comes back to haunt you sooner or later, doesn't it?

"How are you?" Bella asked. She shifted her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. To make matters worse, she even looked like she truly _did_ care... I noticed that she wore her left hand in a cast and wondered if she had hurt herself again. She was just so clumsy…

I tried to keep my expression apathetic, but crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm fine," I said, my voice awfully raspy, my red nose standing in strong contrast to my words. I really wasn't in the mood for small talk with her.

"So…" Bella said and then there was a short awkward pause.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. My words came out harsh and unfriendly, directly followed by a coughing fit.

She gave me a worried look that I ignored. "I didn't know you were working here as well," she said. "I'm here as a substitute teacher for Mr. Laurent…"

Of course.

I just had about the worst luck ever, didn't I?

_Today is just getting better and better…_

"I guess it has been a while since we last saw each other…" she said in the way you talk about your trip to the grocery store. Like we just went to have a cup of hot chocolate and talked about our favorite school memories or something when we last saw each other. Wrapping the nasty truth in nice, diplomatic words, always with that coy, adorable flush on her cheeks, making her look like such an innocent girl.

I clenched my teeth. Maybe it was the throbbing headache, maybe the fever coming back, but it made me so damn irrationally angry.

It was just so… _Bella_!

And of course obnoxious Mrs. Cope had to bring herself in the conversation.

"You two girls know each other?" she asked and curiously looked back and forth between the two of us.

"Only loosely," I croaked quickly before Bella could even open her mouth, "we haven't really seen each other since elementary school, but we were the best of best friends back then." My voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, that's nice that you meet now again," Mrs. Cope said. She honestly looked like she believed what I had just said. Stupid woman.

Bella only bit her lower lip.

I needed to get out of here before I had one of my infamous Jane-fits. It wouldn't be a good combination with the flu.

Bella started to say more, but I interrupted her. "I really need to leave now," I mumbled and quickly put my pile of papers in a slightly dumbfounded Mrs. Cope's hands. "I'm really not feeling well and have a cat at home that needs to be fed." And with that I left, slamming the heavy door behind me close harder than really necessary.

On my way to my car I kicked the trash can by the entrance and angrily wiped away the stupid treacherous tear from the corner of my eye. I was shivering and felt that the fever was slowly coming back.

I could already tell that I would need stronger things than just chamomile tea this evening.

---

_**Poor Jane… :(**___

_**Bella is obviously not her favorite person on the **__**face of the earth (just like in canon ;P). As said before, I try to keep most things similar to canon, although slightly (or extremely XD) twisted. But Jane does hold grudges and might be a bit biased at times….**_

_**Oh, and I just had to throw a little Jacob/Bella in there. XD**_


	9. Watch Out For Those Smart Blondes

_**This chapter was originally intended to be from Aro's POV but…**_

… _**w**__**ell, I had the glorious idea to search Youtube for silly candy songs as theme songs for Aro (because silly, bubbly songs are great for me to get inspired for writing and get in that Aro mood). Well, of course silly me had to type the words "lollipop song" in the search engine. **_

_**For those of you who are facepalming now, yeah, I should have known that the internez is an evil place. o.O**_

_**Somehow I ended up clicking on a chipmunk version of the song 'Lollipop' and was laughing for the rest of the evening as a result. And no, the fact that the girl in the song was called "shortie" didn't help.**__** Needless to say, it took my while to not crack up every time I wanted to write something from Aro's POV and get the mental pictures out of my head again. **_

_**(AND THAT LOLLIPOP SONG IS STUCK IN MY HEAD NOW, DAMMIT! -.-)**_

_**Therefore, this chapter will not be from Aro's POV but from Sully's for a change.**__** ;P**_

---

**Sully**** POV**

Right after school I went to bring Marcus his homework.

Or at least that was what I had told Aro. He was so naïve sometimes.

I asked Didyme to come with me and although she pretended to be indifferent, I could tell that she was excited.

At least to me it was so obvious that she had a crush on him, I was actually surprised Marcus hadn't noticed yet.

She was just so shy and probably afraid to tell him, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Aro was partially a reason for that as well. Because, well, despite being mostly very nice and friendly… he could be overprotective at times. Didyme had dated Leah Clearwater's little brother for a couple of weeks, but Aro practically told him to "fuck off" and the boy did, so that innocent relationship had ended before it had really started.

And Marcus… he was probably even more hopeless. He was so sweet and kind, but I was pretty sure he had never even kissed a girl. It was definitely not that girls weren't interested in him, it was rather that he was not interested in them. And no, by that I didn't mean he was gay. He was just too awfully shy!

Once a really pretty girl had hit on him on a party, literally inviting him to make out with her. And what did Marcus do? "Uh… I think I need to go home now." That's what he had said.

"Seriously, he is never going to get laid like that," Aro had said to me after that evening.

I wouldn't have put it that, but he definitely needed to start being a bit more outgoing. Especially because I was pretty sure that he secretly liked Didyme quite a bit. He definitely looked over at her from the corner of his eye and then blushed slightly when she smiled at him more than was normal.

The problem was, they were both just so blind.

So sometimes you just had to push them a little, right?

"Oh…" I said to Didyme and stopped walking," I completely forgot I need to go to the store for my mom…" I turned around to look at her.

"So you think we should go to the store first?" she asked and stopped as well.

"No, no…" I frowned. And then I pretended like I had just had the best idea ever. "Hey, what if I go to the store first and you go Marcus? And I'll meet you there later?"

"Uh… I don't know… I don't even know Marcus all that well…" Didyme started.

But I didn't let her finish. "Oh, I'm sure that won't a problem," I said, "I won't take long, promise." And with that I smiled at her encouragingly, turned around and waved goodbye, then hurried off in the other direction to the store, not waiting for a response.

---

At the store I grabbed a shopping basket and started to look for the things my mother had told me to buy. Mainly just things for baking and washing powder. The other stuff could still wait until the weekend when we would go to a cheap supermarket in the city to save some money.

I also took a quick look at different hair dyes.

I was actually toying with the idea of cutting my long, blonde hair, maybe even dye it.

Dora had told me not to do it, she said I would only regret it. Because apparently my hair was my trademark people recognized and stereotyped me by.

… _that pretty blonde head of yours…_

I was sick of it. Sick of stereotypes, sick of automatic expectations and assumptions.

Yes, I was feeling a little bit rebellious, but who doesn't at times?

When I was eight, my father had fallen in love with another man and decided it was time to get out of this small town. He just disappeared from one day to the other and we had never seen him again since. Well, at least he wrote me a letter from time to time.

And mom thought of herself as some grieving widow ever since. She had just given up her bookstore and turned every guy asking her out down, no matter how nice he was. Sometimes… it was just a bit hard to watch.

Aro… he was cuddly and crazy and fun… but sometimes he was way too caught up in his own happy little world.

Don't get me wrong, he was an awesome boyfriend and one of the best friends I could have ever had, especially because he was "special" in his own way. But sometimes talking to him was just like… like talking to a happy puppy that runs after a frisbee the next moment. It was hard to keep up with all his energy sometimes.

And I knew that he cared about me and would never just run after another girl (although I noticed very well that he had that wandering eye sometimes), but that wasn't the issue I had had lately with our relationship.

To be honest… I didn't even really know what the issue was.

Probably it was just me.

Sometimes I really just wanted to get out of this small town.

I turned around the corner into the aisle with the baking supplies, completely caught up in my own thoughts.

I almost bumped into Alistair.

"Can't you…" he started, but then recognized me and mumbled "Oh, hi Sully…"

He wore his usual black pants and hoodie, the store's red shopping basket seemed oddly out of place on his arm.

He was the school's 'loser kid', the freak, but I think very few people besides me knew that he wrote great poetry and liked trashy horror movies I had thought nobody except me and Caius appreciated anymore these days.

"Um… what are you doing here?" Alistair asked and shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly. He hardly ever talked at school.

"Doing some shopping for my mom," I replied, "what about you?" I brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes and watched him pick on his sweater.

"Uh… just picking up same things for my mom as well…" he mumbled.

I nodded slowly at his rather short answer. Well, at least he had already talked more in the past thirty seconds than he usually did in a whole day of school.

"Where is your… errr… boyfriend?" he asked and put on a tough expression.

I shrugged. "Still at school. Debate club, I think. Half of the time I don't even know what he is doing."

Now it was Alistair's turn to nod exaggeratedly.

"Okay, I guess I see you tomorrow in school…" he said almost shyly and smiled.

…

_Wow, wait a minute… did Alistair just… smile?_

I realized that I had never seen him smile before.

That's when I decided there were too many unhappy people in this town.

And I decided that I needed a plan.

---

_**I always get annoyed when Sully is portrayed as the **__**dumb, characterless "wifey". Plus, this is set in modern times, so she deserves some independence. So yeah, I've got plans for her. ^^**_


	10. Socially Awkward vs Inappropriate

_**Horray, once again one of those chapters where I got over double the amount of alerts and favorites than reviews. (SARCASM) **_

_**There are lots of lovely reviewers out there **__**(insert one of those "I heart" symbols here) and I really consider myself lucky to get as many reviews as I do, but I'm still annoyed by the review attitude some people seem to have.**_

_**No, I don't mean people who **__**don't review from time to time. I do as well. Sometimes we just don't have time or a clever thing to say or… It is your business when and how you review. But it bugs me for example how people seem to be ridiculously focused on how to look best with their reviews ("Oh, I'm going to review a story with 429 reviews, but not one with 55."). And then they whine on their account how they need more reviews now and find it sooo unfair that nobody is reviewing. I've got news for you people: You'll only get as much as you give.**_

_**Right now I'm angry because there are tons of great authors out there who would deserve some reviews and constructive criticism, but don't, and I'm feeling like the "click the favorite button to make your profile look nice with some Volturi fics" dummy.**_

_**THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THE REVIEW SYSTEM.**___

_**(takes a deep breath) Anyway, so instead of just ranting, I have decided to start the "advent review action against a bad review culture", if anyone wants to join me, feel free to.**_

_**End of ridiculously long rant and on to the chapter warnings: This**__** chapter contains some inappropriate Aro. You have been warned. ^^**_

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**Marcus POV**

I was sick, which sucked. It really did.

All I did the whole day was drinking tea and reading books, but actually I was even too sick for that. I could only read about three lines before I just wanted to sleep again.

The door bell rang. Probably Aro who had come to bring me the homework and all the other school stuff I had missed.

My mom was away for coffee at a friend's place, I was alone at home. So I had to get up and answer the door even though I would have preferred very much to just keep lying in bed next to the box with the Kleenex.

I had a really awful headache and just wanted to sleep and cough all day long, but I figured at least to the door I would still make it.

When I opened the door I expected a smiling, black-haired guy.

The person who stood in front of me still had long, dark, slightly wavy hair down to the waist, but she was definitely female and her lips were more pressed into a tight line than pulled up into a smile.

Didyme.

The only coherent sentence I got out was a very croaky "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" she stuttered and looked shyly at her feet, "Sully went to the store and I didn't have anything else to do so… I'm here to bring you your homework…"

… _did Sully think this was funny?_

"Eh... ah, okay…" I stuttered and wished for the ground to just swallow me up.

To be honest, I was kind of panicking, because I hadn't expected her here at all and didn't know what to say. Well, actually I could think of a lot to say, but nothing seemed right or appropriate.

Socially awkward didn't even cover it.

So I kept quiet.

Didyme didn't seem to know what to say either.

She just put the pile of books and papers in my hands and before I could even say anything she turned around and left, almost tripping over her own feet as she practically run around the corner and disappeared.

I hadn't even thanked her.

---

**Aro POV**

It was already Friday and Marcus was still sick at home.

He had asked me to go to Miss Ross and ask her what papers he needed for next week when he came back to school, so he wouldn't be completely unprepared for the next test. Chemistry wasn't exactly his best subject, so he was a bit worried he wouldn't pass the course.

The door to her classroom was ajar, so I opened it without knocking.

Miss Ross was sitting on the windowsill Indian style, completely caught up in the magazine or notebook she had lying in her lap. It looked pretty funny in an adorable way, I mean, considering that teachers always yelled at us students for sitting on the windowsill.

What was even more adorable though where the big, thick-rimmed glasses she wore. I didn't even know that she had glasses.

She chewed on her pencil, lost in thought.

I cleared my throat and when she heard me, she immediately jumped up and put her things away, as if I had just caught her doing something forbidden.

"What do you want?" She turned around to me, brushed a strand of loose hair out of her face and gave me a rather impatient look.

"… you are wearing glasses?" It was a stupid question, considering that she obviously did, but I was just really surprised to see her with glasses and the question just slipped out like that.

"Yes, I obviously do," she murmured. "But just because I've lost my contacts."

_Gah, I bet she was one of those cute nerdy girls who always carry at least one or two books around with them back __when she was in high school!_

I put my left hand in my pocket and tapped my fingers against the mobile phone I had there, something I do all the time when talking to someone. "Umm… I'm here to ask you if I could have some of the copies from the last lessons?" I explained. "You know, for Marcus… Because he is still sick and a bit worried that he has missed too much of the subject for the test next week…"

"Oh, of course," she nodded understandingly, then went over to her desk and started to move books and folders around. She had quite a lot of stuff there and I wondered how she still knew where everything was.

Finally she seemed to have found what she was looking for.

"I want to keep the originals though so I would need to make some copies of it first…" She frowned. "Do you have about ten minutes so I can do that or are you in a hurry to leave?"

"Oh, I can wait," I assured her, "I need to wait for my sister anyway so I'm in no hurry to go home. Take your time."

"Okay…" Miss Ross started to say, but then her small frame was shook by a scary sounding coughing fit.

She had come back to school only today and was still coughing and sneezing like crazy, but insisted that she was fine.

She actually sounded quite funny with her stuffed red nose, like a little squirrel or something, but I decided that telling her that would be a little mean. I was tempted though.

Instead I followed her to the teachers' lounge and waited by the door until she had finished all the copies. I was bored, so I looked at the colorful notices and posters in the corridor, chuckling at the fact that our school still didn't seem to be able to afford a decent color printer.

After Miss Ross was finished with the copying, she put the papers in my hands with a small smile. "Here you go."

She actually looked quite pretty when she smiled…

I kept staring at her.

At first glance her full lips were almost a bit too full for her delicate face, but together with her wide blue eyes they made her look really quite beautiful in that special way… Especially when she was smiling.

_Cute, cute, cute… _my mind chanted. _I actually wouldn't mind boinking her…_

…

I blinked twice. _Huh, where did that thought just come from?_

Miss Ross frowned and looked up at me from under her glasses. "Do you still have questions or was that all?"

_Appropriate questions or inappropriate ones?_

I quickly shook my head and pulled myself together. "No, that's all," I said and smiled angelically, "have a nice afternoon."

But when I turned around to leave, I couldn't keep myself from adding something more. "Those are cute glasses."

And with that I left.

---

_**Inappropriate Aro is inappropriate. ;P**_


	11. Explosive!

_**Someone suggested I should write something from Leah's POV**__** and I actually thought that was a good idea to get some of her thoughts across, so this chapter is partially from her POV.**_

_**As for the chemical terms in this fic, I remember one experiment from my chemistry class, but unfortunately my teacher**__**'s English sucked, so for the sake of not embarrassing myself by using the wrong names (I'm pretty sure there is actually no element named "sulfuor") or confusing you with highly scientific terms, I will not go into details.**_

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**Leah POV**

"Leah, why do you always have to be such a bitch?" Jared asked me and frowned.

I turned up the volume on my MP3 player, ignored him and kept on scribbling letters and geometrical forms on a crumpled piece of paper that I had saved from the trash can.

I had basically the choice between sitting here with him, Paul, _Sam_ and some other idiots, or change tables and go sit with Embry and Jacob. Which seemed like the better choice at first, but at that table was also the whole 'popular freaks' clique sitting.

Yes, I labeled them.

Okay, Marcus was not that bad. He was just quiet. And Sully and Renata were somewhat nice as well.

But then there were the others.

Aro, for one. He was friends with Jacob and one a good day I might have said he was actually quite nice. But I still hadn't forgotten how he had treated my little brother Seth. _"Stay away from my sister or I might need to get nasty."_ Seriously, who did he think he was? Overprotective older brother mode? Not cool.

At the moment he was gesturing wildly with his hands, almost smacking Heidi's head accidentally. He was such an Italian stereotype sometimes.

I let my glance wander to his left. There were Caius and his girlfriend, practically shoving their tongues down each other's throats.

_Ugh, someone__ please hand me a bin to throw up in!_

Yeah, don't even get me started on Caius!

He was an idiot.

I was usually just passive-aggressive and didn't really know why the urge to harm him was that strong, but whenever I saw him, I wanted to just walk up to him and punch him in the face.

He was just… argh!

Whenever he got the chance, he humiliated, insulted or played a prank on me.

I hated the guy's guts.

Which he, I had to admit, unfortunately had.

He was an idiot, a jerk, a bitch… but one thing I had to account him for… he was always straight-forward and honest. If he hated you (and I was sure that was the case with me) he always told you right in the face and he was one of the few guys who never cheated when we played dodgeball in gym class (instead he just smashed the ball at your head whenever he got the chance).

But when I saw him today, sitting there with his friends… I decided to get back at him.

If a prank war was what he wanted, he would get one.

Emily, my former best friend and ex-boyfriends new girlfriend, shot me a concerned look, like she always did. I ignored that as well.

Instead I started plotting. I decided that I had had enough.

I had enough of being treated like that, always getting those looks, either awfully worried like my family's or Emily's just now, or annoyed and scared at the same time like Jared's. I had enough of being the pathetic, heart-broken bitch everyone hated, I had enough of Caius' mean insults and I decided and that he would regret his behavior.

I would prove him that I could be an even bigger bitch!

The thought made me smile for what was about the first time in weeks.

And as fate wanted it, I might have overheard a conversation between him and Aro and Marcus, where he told them about his plan of rearranging the jars with the chemicals in the chemistry lab in a certain way to play a prank on Miss Ross.

And I might have gotten the idea to rearrange them again after that to get him in the trouble he deserved.

It was time that he got a taste of his own medicine!

---

**Caius POV**

Miss Ross had been sick the last week, which sucked. It really did.

And no, not because I felt sorry for her or something (never, I tell you, _never_!), but because I couldn't carry out my ingenious master plan for revenge. Because, well, obviously the target of that master plan wasn't at school.

_Dammit__!_

But now everything was fine again.

Because Miss Ross was back.

We were in the chemistry laboratory and she was explaining something. I didn't listen though, I was too preoccupied with my evil master plan. Alone thinking about it made me smile.

Don't you just sometimes want to rub your hands in glee like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons?

Yeah, I do too.

When I entered the chemistry classroom, I was actually smiling widely and Miss Ross gave me a wary look like she knew I was up to something.

She was right.

I knew from the script that we would be doing an experiment with sulfur and another complicated sounding chemical today. Harmless enough.

But after I had bugged Aro, our chemistry genius, long enough, he had given me the idea to swap the etiquettes on the little jars containing the second reactant with the ones on the jars with another chemical. And once everyone added that to the sulfur… we would have some pretty impressive smoke effects! With possible panic among the girls and a lot of anger for Miss Ross.

After the first thirty minutes in the classroom, we went all to the lab to carry out the experiment. Everything was going just according to plan!

Aro, Marcus and I were one lab group. We had our usual table, the one in the furthest corner of the classroom so we could talk undisturbed.

"… add about half of a spoon of the…" Miss Ross was explaining, but I didn't listen. The pitch of her voice seemed incompatible with my ears, so her words always went in one ear and out the other. I chewed on my fingernails and looked about me instead.

Jacob and Quil were goofing around with their safety goggles at the workstation next to ours.

When we were finally allowed to carry out the experiment, I watched Afton add half a spoonful of the "magic powder".

I waited for the cloud of smoke, but oddly enough, nothing happened.

_Huh, did we do something wrong? _I gave Aro a questioning look.

He just shrugged. Obviously he had no explanation either.

I angrily snatched the jar from his hands and added the powder in our own test tube. I wanted to play safe and took one full spoon of it.

And then there was a loud bang and lot of dark, thick smoke.

---

Dora looked at me, still shocked.

"Hey…" I tried to calm her down, "nothing really happened…"

She slapped my hand away as I wanted to take her hand. "You idiot!" she yelled, "did you want to blow us all up or what?!"

We were all waiting outside the classroom. Miss Ross was still talking with the janitor because well… there was still a lot of smoke in the laboratory…

When she came back, she looked like she was ready to murder someone, namely me. She walked directly over to where I, Dora, Sully, Aro and Marcus were standing.

"Okay…" she hissed and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes fixed on me, "I want to know… who is responsible for this?"

Aro instantly pointed at me and Marcus.

I pointed back at him accusingly. "He gave me the idea," I snapped angrily, "and it didn't even work as he promised!"

Marcus just blinked.

And then Miss Ross exploded. "What the hell were you thinking?!" she yelled.

Aro wanted to say something, but she didn't let him. "Really… how stupid do you have to be?! she continued her rant and everyone, even Aro took a small step back as she flailed her arms around wildly in her anger. "Didn't you realize how dangerous that was?! Honestly, I would have expected you to be a bit smarter than this!"

Her small fists were clenched tightly and to be honest, she was starting to frighten me a little…

Everyone was staring at her widely by now. I suppose nobody had expected a tiny thing like her to have such a loud voice.

"Okay, that's it..." She took a deep breath, but her eyes were still sparking. "You will go and see the principal about this! All three of you!"

---

_**Poor Marcus, he didn't even do anything**__**. XD**_


End file.
